Anglim Private Health is a private GP surgery in Bury St Edmunds. We make it easy and convenient to see a GP face to face and you can book an appointment, including at weekends, via our website, by calling us on 01284 245665, or by email on doctors@anglimhealth.co.uk
Menopause care has hit the news this week as Panorama highlighted some of the unusual HRT prescribing by one particular private provider. Whilst it is important to make sure that unusual practice is examined closely and scrutinised, it is also important to make sure that we don’t ignore the underlying difficulty that some women have in accessing high quality menopause care.
At Anglim Private Health we provide a high quality menopause service. Our appointments are longer than a standard GP appointment so Dr Anglim has the time to really understand your symptoms and how they affect you as a person. We have the ability to organise extra tests if needed to make sure that your symptoms are indeed related to the menopause. We often use those tests to exclude some serious conditions which can present with symptoms similar to menopause. And when we feel that treatment for menopause is required we are able to discuss with our patients an overall approach to improving menopause symptoms.
- The panorama programme talked about a range of highly priced supplements for menopause. While we will discuss lifestyle and nutrition as part of a holistic approach to treat menopause, we will only recommend treatments or supplements which have good clinical evidence as to their effectiveness. If you ask our opinion about a supplement we will give you an honest and direct opinion about the evidence of their effectiveness.
- We will discuss treatments which are not medicines and how they might improve some of the menopause symptoms. These might include exercise, physiotherapy, osteopathy or other activities you can do yourself at home. We will discuss how effective they can be and if requested we can put you in contact with other healthcare practitioners who can support that care.
- We will discuss and prescribe medications which do not involve hormones. We will be open and honest about their effectiveness and side effects so that you can make an informed choice about those treatments.
- And if appropriate we will discuss and prescribe hormone treatments i.e. HRT with you and discuss how to manage that safely. We will adjust the doses safely and in line with the current best guidance from the British Menopause Society.
We only provide HRT care in line with the British Menopause Society guidelines. We will use regulated bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, but in line with the British Menopause Society guidelines we do not prescribe or recommend compounded bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
There are times when a very specialist opinion is required for HRT. This might include for example the use of HRT with a previous diagnosis of breast cancer or with a strong family history of related cancers. If we feel a more expert opinion is required we will discuss that with you and if wanted can organise an appropriate referral.
If you think you are struggling with menopause symptoms, please find and speak to an appropriate healthcare professional who can discuss your symptoms with you and discuss the best way forward. We would be happy to see you at Anglim Private Health, our private GP surgery in Bury St Edmunds and you can book an appointment online or call us on 01284 245665.